Life as a military child can be filled with challenges. Sometimes military children just need to talk to someone who can listen and understand their problems. Now, at Loy Elementary School, a Child and Youth Behavioral-Military Family Life Counselor or “MFLC” is available to do just that, counsel with military-connected children and their parents. These services are being offered at no additional cost to the families or the Great Falls Public School District.

Contracted by the Department of Defense, through Magellan Health Services, the Loy MFLC is a licensed clinician who has diverse expertise in working with children. The MFLC can provide casual, short-term, non-medical counseling support in a variety of different ways: through individual meetings with children, presentations about life skills issues, skill-building group discussions and meeting with parents and families at their request for additional counseling/coaching support. While meeting with children, the MFLC will always remain in line of sight of a teacher, staff member or parent.

The primary focus of the Military and Family Life Counseling Program is prevention, education and counseling support; the services are provided confidentially and no case records or documentation is kept. The MFLC does not assess or diagnose. If more in-depth issues/diagnoses are encountered, the MFLC will offer to connect military families with other helping agencies available on the installation or in the community. However, as a licensed social worker, the Loy MFLC does maintain a “duty to warn” when the health or welfare of a child is at stake.

In addition to the work with military families, the Loy MFLC can also work with teachers and the school guidance counselor to provide life skills presentations on topics such as anger management, conflict resolution and communication skills.

The MFLC will work to provide military students and parents informal, non-threatening counseling in a supportive environment. By circulating throughout the school, the MFLC will build friendly relationships with students at the pick-up/drop-off areas outside the school, in the cafeteria, around the library and on the playground. The goal of the MFLC is to be present wherever and whenever military students and their parents may need them, thus, becoming an integral part of the school, an invaluable resource for military families and a professional support for school faculty, staff and administration.

Military parents will be given a consent form on which they may authorize or deny Loy School MFLC the opportunity to work with their children.

For questions or more information about MFLC services at Loy Elementary School, contact Loy School at 268-6885, the Malmstrom School Liaison Officer at 731-3506 or call the Loy MFLC directly at 403-1306.